Pa. truck driver faces charges over damaged bridge

SCRANTON, Pa.—An arrest warrant has been issued for a northeastern Pennsylvania truck driver after police say he struck and damaged a busy traffic bridge last year.

Police say 28-year-year Eric Gower was driving a truck carrying an excavator when it clipped the Moosic Street bridge in Scranton on Nov. 2. He's now facing charges of risking catastrophe, false statements and other counts.

Investigators responding to the site in November found chunks of concrete underneath the bridge. The State Department of Transportation later determined the structure was unsafe for travel and closed it for repairs, which remain underway.

Attorney Anthony Moses, who represents the company that employs Gower, says the charges are a "witch hunt" and are unfounded. A telephone listing for Gower couldn't immediately be located.